New Arrival

Monday, May 13, 2013

Wanted: A Left-Handed Camera

I am ambidextrous. I write left-handed. I eat right-handed. I shoot or throw a ball left-handed. I prefer using right-handed scissors.

I am fortunate because I can use both hands fairly interchangeably. But let's face it: The world is designed for right-handed people.

Most days, I don't even think about the fact that a camera is designed for right-handed use. But when you want to use your right hand to click a camera at the same time you're using the throttle on a 4-wheeler, it just doesn't work.

Go ahead: I'll wait. You try holding a camera (or your camera phone) and taking a photo with your left hand by clicking the button on the right-hand side of the camera.

So ... true confessions. I had to come to a stop on the 4-wheeler to take a few photos of the cattle drive the other day. Don't tell the boss 'cause I don't want to lose my sweet job on the "Japanese horse." I am usually the blocker at the road, getting the cattle to turn the right direction.

It is definitely easier to take photos with that job. But it's not as much fun, especially when the hubby does the harder part - like getting off the other 4-wheeler and walking around the feed bunk to get the mamas and babies moving in the right direction and so we didn't get stuck in the wet corral.

In an ideal world, cattle would just head down the road and stay there. But, just like humans who are tempted by tasty goodies, the cattle head off for the yummy stuff - at least in their eyes. Those fields of bright green wheat were just too hard to resist - kind of like frosted sugar cookies for me.

It took some vigorous "hey, hey, heying" and "tailgating" to get them to leave behind the tender morsels and head for the corral at Jake's house.

I don't have photos of the actual sorting. It's impossible to take pictures and get the mamas and babies separated. It's even harder than taking photos with your left hand! So, once we got them separated, we loaded mamas ...

... and babies for their separate ride to the pasture.

They arrived at their destination - a pasture near the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Hopefully, they won't want to become tourists and leave their "digs" for a look at the neighboring wildlife.